Fabric and method of and apparatus for treating the same



1b. ROBERTSON ET AL 2,110,118- FABRIC AND METHOD OF AND- APPARATUS FORTREATING THE SAME March 1, 1938.

Filed Sept. 14, 1936 2 Sheets-sheaf 1 March 1, 1938. J. D. ROBERTSON ElAL 2,110,118

I ABRIC AND METHOD OF AND APPARATUS REATI Filed Sept. 14, 1936 2Sheets-Sheet 2 z I A fioiiwfiolglasfloberfison, l5 Wa'ZZz'aan8413311522206,

Patented Me}. 1, .1938 2,110,118

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FABRIC AND METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FORTREATING THE SAME John Douglas Robertson and William G. Staples,

Dighton, Mass, asslgnors to Mount Hope Finishing Company, Dighton, Masa,a corporation spots on a plain fabric ground, such, for ex- Inconnection with such fabrics, where the 5 ample, as dottedmarquisettes.Such spots are rovings are incorporated in the fabric ground formed byinterweaving yarns, picks or rovings when and as woven, one object ofthe present inwith a plurality ofthreads of the warp or filling ventlonis to produce a fabric of this type in a constituting the fabric ground.when and as the finally finished form with the roving ends prelatter iswoven, the rovings being subsequently senting a finely fluifed or puffedup full appear- 10 sheared or clipped, leaving free, loose, exposedance, anda soft, downy condition extending over portions whichlie-fiatwise on one face of th substantially the entire area covered bythe dot fabric. Such clipped spots may be in various or spot and overand above the interwoven roving patterns but are often in the form ofso-called strands, as contrasted with a flattened, irregular,

l5 dots, on marquisettes, Swiss, lawn or other fabrics, unsightly andmore or less shapeless appearance where the weave of the ground fabricis more and a hard, matted condition, which has heretoor less open. forecharacterized finished marquisettes and It is one characteristic of anopen mesh fabric, other fabrics of this kind.

suchas dotted marquisette, that the rovings being Another object of thepresent invention is to interwoven with a plurality of threads andhavprovide a highly eflic n and Simple me h 0! ing a sinuous path, theends of the rovings when and apparatus for treating fabrics, includingthe *cut tend to lie fiat against the open mesh face flum'ng up of theloose fibers thereon and in, of the fabric ground, whereas in theordinary art ar l se r vin nds n fa s pr s closelywoven pile fabric,where the pile threads g S ch C pe spots as have been hereinbei'ole havea single loop only about one or more threads, referred 25 the pilethreads when cut tend to assume a more These and other objects of theinvention will nearly erect position. be best understood by referencetonthe accom- When such fabrics leave the loom, the interpanyingillustration of one specific embodiment woven rovlngs appear as separatestrands, orthereof when taken in connection with the acso dinarilyparallel, with loose ends closely bunched compan ns d c p wh e its scopew b and lying flatwise against the fabric ground. more particularlyPointed Out in e pp S nce they form a component, interwoven part a ms,of the fabric ground, they must be subjected, n t e d a under thepractice heretofore prevailing, to all Fig. 1 is an end elevation of adevice embo ythe finishing operations to which the fabric itone form ofthe invention employing compressed 35 self is subjected; These,comprising, as they orair for the purpose of fiufllng up the rovin fi edinarily have, the usual steps of bleaching, can on fabrics, andparticularly the fibers of clipped drying, sizing, batching, etc., aresuch as militate spots such as have been referred to; against thedevelopment of any flufied up, soft Fig. 2 is a partial frontelevation-of the device 10 condition or shapely appearance of the rovingS wn in 40 ends. In the process of finishing these fabrics, Fig. 3 is amore or less dia e illustraas for example dotted marquisettes, asheretotion showing the general course of the fabric subfore carried out,it has been the common practice jected to the action of the device Shownin F before delivering them to the tenter frame to not 1 and 2, followedy the applieatienof Sizing a d 15 only subject the fabric to suchtreatment as its passage through the tenter e;

- flattens and distorts the roving ends, but also to Fig. 4 is across-sectional elevation of the depass the fabric with the dots throughstarch or vice shown in Figs. 1 and 2. on t e i i other sizing manglesfor the purpose of impart- Fig. 2, and additionally showing the path ofthe ing the required body to the fabric ground, The fabric immediatelybefore and after being sub- ;0 result has been that in the finishedfabric the iected to the action of the compressed ir;

loose, roving ends become flattened. with the ab- Fig. 5 is an enlargefr m n y r senee of any soft, fluify'appearance, and the dots tlonalview showing the details of the plates which as well as the fabricbecome permeated with size. form the air discharge Slot d t e DP Onleaving the tenter frame when dried, the dots pera ufi Seating memberbetween are "flat, hard and irregular, the ends of the inwhich the clothpasses; 56

of Massachusetts Application September 14, 1936, Serial No. 100,604 15Claims. (01. 26-29) This invention relates to a new type of finishedfabric and to methods of and apparatus for preparing the same, andparticularly those fabrics presenting isolated or spaced groups ofraised dividual rovings are compacted and bunched leaving the interwovenstrands more or less visible, and-the dots present a shapeless andunsightly appearance in the finished fabric.

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view, similar to Fig. 4, showing theapplication of the device to an ordinary napped fabric;

Fig. '7 is an enlarged plan showing a portion of a fiufllng action. I

Referring to the drawings and first to the embodiment of the inventionintended 'more particularly for the finishing of fabric haviiig clippedspots, as, for example, marquisette, the fabric which is represented atH (Fig. 3), and before being subjected to the dot flufdng devicerepresented generally at I3, is withdrawn from a box truck and subjectedto the action of some of the usual finishing devices. It may, forexample, be passed over a tension rack, thence through a drying mangle,thence over a series of drying cans, over compensating rolls, andthrough an intervening weft straightener. This is a common method oftreating such fabrics, except that in the treatment here contemplatedthe usual application of sizing to the fabric is omitted, or ratherwithheld, until after the dots have been processed, as hereinafterdescribed. This method of handling the fabric and the devices thereforbeing well understood, no attempt is made inFig. 3 to show the treatmentof the fabric just prior to reaching the dot raising device I3.

In the pre-treatment of the fabric, and par- 40 ticularly in its passageover the drying cans, the dots Ilbcome very much flattened and present amore or less matted and unsymmetrical appearance, which may beapproximately represented in Figs. '1 and 8. To puff up the fibers ofthe dots and bring the latter into some such con-.- dition as isrepresented in Figs. 9 and 10, the fabric is first caused to pass overthe guide roll l1 (Fig. 4), with the dotted side on which the looseroving ends lie (herein termed the face of the fabric in distinctionfrom the reverse side) in contact with the roll, and thence over thecorner or edge of a bar l9 which extends beneath the fabric for the fullwidth thereof, and is supported at each opposite end by a yoke 2|carried by an upright bar 23. The corner of the bar l9 acts as astraight-edge, intending to separate more or less and loosen the packeddown .fibers of the dots prior to the action. of the air thereon and toprepare them therefor. A somewhatsimilar added effect is produced by thedrag of the fabric face (Fig. 4) over 'the corner 25 f the plate 21, thefiat top of which lies along the line of travel of .the fabric close tothe face or underside thereof.

The fabric passing over the top of plate 21 is then subjected to theaction of compressed air delivered against the face of the fabricthrough a narrow slot 29 formed between the opposite separated bevelededges of the plate 21 and the plate 3!, the face of the latter beinginclined to the face of the plate 21 and diverging from the path ofthefabric ll. a F

The plates 21 and 3| (Figs. 1, 2 and 4) are bolted to a grooved casting33 and with the latter form theair chamber 35, to either or both ends ofthe dots after having been subjected to such of which (Fig. 2)compressed air at a substantial pressure, such, for example, as from 20to 30 pounds to the square inch, is delivered through the pipe 31 fromany suitable source, the air being thence delivered upwardly through"the narrow slot 29 between the edges of the separated plates 21 and 3!and against the face of the fabric II as it passes over the mouth of theslot. The slot 29 (shown in Figs. 1, 4 and is preferably inclinedforwardly at a somewhat acute angle "in the direction of the travel ofthe fabric, so that the compressed air strikes the face of the fabric ata slight angle to the perpendicular, as, for example, 25. l

At the mouth of the slot,the slot forming side of the plate 21 extendsto the top face thereof and forms an acute angle therewith, leaving acorner or edge 39 presented immediately to the face or under side of thefabric. The slot forming side of the plate 3|, however, terminates shortof the corner 39 (Fig. 5) by a slight amount (as, forexample, of aninch), and the wall of the slot is thence beveled back tothe face of theplate, forming a shoulder ll further spaced from the plane of travel ofthe fabric than the edge 39. This forms an open relief space just beyondthe corner 39 where the air impinges on the face of the fabric and onthe free fibers of the dots and avoids confining the fibers of the dotswhen and after subjected to the compressed air, as well as providing thedesired turbulence of the air acting on the loose fibers.

The structure comprising the plates 21 and 3| and the casting 33 (ofwhich one end only is shown in Fig. 3), extends transversely across and35 beneath the entire width of the fabric so that the face of the latterfor its entire width issubjected to, the blast of air delivered throughthe narrow slot .29. The slot 29 is preferably narrow in width so as todeliver from its mouth a thin sheet of compressed air against the faceof the fabric, a width of the order of approximately .014 of an inch,withan air pressure of from 20 to 30 pounds being found to giveeifective results. I,

Immediately above the plate 21, separated from the plate by anappreciable space (as, for example, of an inch) and extending forwardlyand beyond the mouth of the slot by an appreciable distance (as, forexample, of an inch) is located a member 43, herein in the form of a'barof substantially square cross-section, the bottom of which, andparticularly the overlapping forward edge thereof, presents a surfacefunctioning both as a seat for the back of the fabric when and if forcedupwardly by the air and to direct the escaped air through the mosteifective course.

The bar 43 is supported at each end (Figs. 1 and 2), beyond the ends ofthe plates 21 and 3|, by adjusting screws in a U-shaped plate 45, thelegs of which are secured to a transverse plate 41, fastened in turn byadjusting screws in spaced relation to a bracket resting on the pipe 31,the bracket being clamped to the pipe by a U- shaped band 5i whichembraces the under side of the pipe. The bar therefore extends entirelyacross and above the back of the fabric, slightly spaced from the mouthof the air slot 29, and in the relation thereto heretofore described.

Beyond the bar 43 and the mouth ,of the air slot, above the fabric as itpasses beyond the slot, there is provided a member 53 consisting of asheet metal plate fastened to the bar and having a wall inclinedforwardly. and downwardly from the top of the bar nearly to the plane offabric travel. This plate extends across the entire width 75 of thefabric, covering the space back of the fabric just beyond the mouth ofthe slot. plate confines the air escaping through the fabric and alsoserves to deflect it again downwardly through v the fabric from the backthereof, and the forward lower edge of the plate 53 serves to seat orhold down the fabric if the latter tends to lift under the action of theair.

The best results have been found to follow an adjustment of the bar 43and deflector 53, such that the seat or surface formed by the bottom ofthe bar is inclined downwardly and forwardly towards the plate 21 at aslight angle (as, for example, 2) as is indicated in Figs. 4 and 5, thusproviding slightly converging walls with a slightly contracting spacefor the passage of the fabric between them.

The dimensional figures herein'suggested are not to be taken in anyrestrictive sense but as illustrative only, and merely as exemplifyingthose utilized in the preferred embodiment of the invention applied tothe processing of fabrics, such as small dotted marquisettes. Thesedimensions may be varied widely and variations may be requiredto adaptthe deviceto fabrics of other types.

The process of treating the. described fabric is as follows:

After the earlier described pre-treatment of the fabric, and on leavingthe roll H, the face of the fabric ll encounters the comer of the bar l9and subsequently the corner 25 of the plate 21 which act to loosen andseparate the loose fibers of the dots and to comb them backward. Thefabric then passes over and above the face of the plate 21 and as itemerges from above the corner 39, any area of the face of the fabricoccupied by a dot is subjected to the action of the compressed airdelivered against the dot at a forward inclination to the face of thefabric through the mouth of the narrow inclined slot 29. This,

through cooperation with the overlapping seat on the bar 43, causes thefibers of the dot to be puffed or fiufied up into the underlying reliefspace provided by the spaced beveled shoulder M on the plate 3|. Thispuihng or fiufiing appears to be increased by the reaction of the air asthe dot passes beneath the space covered by the deflecting plate 53.

The position assumed by the fabric passing over the plates 21 and slot29 and beneath the bar 43 and deflector 53 is indicated in Fig. 4. Underthese conditions the relationship of the overlapping seat of the bar tothe mouth of the slot and to the recess formed by the beveled shoulder4|, particularly in conjunction with the deflector 53, creates a highlydesirable turbulence in the air at the point where it strikes the dot,causing the air to impinge thereagainst at varying angles, raising andfiufiing upthe roving fibers overthe entire area of the dot and avoidingthe flattening or distortion of any portion thereof, such as might becaused by impingement directly of the thin sheet of compressed airagainst the dot without the creation of such turbulence.

The action of the impinging air not only imparts a' puffed or fluffed upappearance over the entire area of the dot, but, serves to partially drytially dried state.

The fabric then passes to the tenter frame 55 (Fig. 3), butbeforeentering the frame is subjected to a sizing action, the size, however,being applied to the back of the fabric so as not to reach the raisedfibers of the dots or affect the fiuffed up appearance thereof. The sizemay be applied in any wellknown manner, but herein a transverse seriesof size delivery nozzles 51 is employed to apply starch or othersuitable size fed from any desired source, each nozzle being arranged inconjunction with .an immediately adjacent aspirating air delivery nozzle59, supplied with compressed air from any suitablesource, to deliveragainstv the back of the fabric a finely atomized spray of sizing. I

The sized fabric then passes into and through the tenter frame 55 whichserves to restore its width, and on the tenter frame enters and passesthrough the heating chamber 6| which thoroughly dries the fabric, whileleaving the fiuify condition of the dots unimpaired. From the tenterframe the fabric passes over the conveyor 63 to any suitable plaiting orhooker device 55, by which it is laid in plaits or folds in the box 61so as to leave the dots without impairment of their fiuffed upcondition.

The finally finished fabric is characterized by a plain, sized, fabricground with a more or less open weave, with the rovings initiallyinterwoven with threads of the fabric ground and with the loose,unsized, roving ends fluifed upin a soft, downycondition spreadingsubstantially over all the area occupied by the spot, including theinterwoven portions of the roving, and giving the intended shape (hereincircular) to the dot or spot.

In Fig. 6 there is shown the application of one form of the inventionfor the treatment of the nap or pile of other fabrics. such as shoeducks, where the nap extends continuously over the face of the fabric,or of other fabrics having a napped surface of any kind.

In this device, the roll I! is raised slightly so that the plane oftravel of the fabric 69 is slightly above the face of the plate 21, thebar l9 being omitted. The bar 43 is also raised very slightly, ascompared with its position in Fig. 4. to allow for the passage of largeseams. The functioning of the air in turbulent fiow and the partsassociated with the air slot, however, is substantially the same as inthe case of the device shown in Fig. 4.

This process and apparatus have been found not only efiective influfling up the nap on fabrics where the nap hasbecome matted andpressed down by the usual preceding finishing treatment. but'also tomaterially-improve the brilliancy of color in dyed piled or nappedfabrics where the color has been dulled by loose particles of fiber orlint previously deposited by the napping While there is herein shown anddescribed for the purposes of illustration one specific embodiment ofthe invention, it is to be understood that extensive deviations andchanges may be made in the form, dimensions and relative arrange ment ofparts, all without departing from the spirit of the invention.

We claim:

1. An apparatus for treating the nap, on pile ing a narrow air dischargeslot, means for causing travel of the fabric across and in' front of themouth of the slot with its napped face presented thereto, means forsupplying compressed.

air at an acute angle to the direction of travel of the fabric, the sideof the structure forming the mouth of the slot on the advance side'of orsheared fabrics, comprising a structure havthe fabric being fartherspaced from the path of travel of the fabric than the side of thestructure forming the opposite side thereof, a member on the oppositeside of the fabric from the slot in close proximity to the slot andpresenting a surface extending across and beyond the area. of

the fabric aligned with the slot, and air deflecting means beyond saidmember also on the opposite side of the fabric from said slot.

' 2. An apparatus for treating the nap on pile or sheared fabrics,comprising a structure having a narrow air delivery slot, means forcausing travel of the fabric across and infront of the mouth of theslot' with its napped face presented thereto, means for supplyingcompressed air at an acute angle to the direction of travel of thefabric, the side of the structure forming the mouth of the slot on theadvance side of the i fabric being farther spaced from the path oftravel of the fabric than the side of the structure forming the'oppositeside thereof, and a member on the opposite side of the fabric from theslot in close proximity to the back of the fabric and presenting asurface extending across and beyond the area of the fabric aligned withv prising the said ground, causing the continuous the slot.

3. An apparatus for treating the nap on pile or sheared fabrics,comprising'a structure having a narrow air discharge slot, means forcausing the travel of the fabric across'and in front of the mouth of theslot with its napped face presented thereto, and means for supplyingcompressed air for delivery through the slot, said slot being inclinedat an acute angle in the direction of travel of the fabric and the sideof the structure forming the mouth of the slot on the advance side ofthe fabric being farther spaced from the path of travel of the fabricthan the side of the structure forming the opposite side thereof. 1

4. An apparatus for treating the nap on pile or sheared fabrics,comprising astructure for discharging compressed air and having a narrowair discharge slot, a member presenting a surface one edge of whichforms one side of the mouth of said slot, means for causing the travelof the fabric across said member and the mouth of said slot withitsnapped 'face presented thereto, means for supplying compressed air fordischarge from said slot toward said fabric, and a member I on theopposite side of said fabric presenting a causing the continuoustravelof the fabric, a

structure positioned adjacent the path of fabric travel having a narrowdischarge slot extending substantially the full width of the fabric,means for discharging compressed gas through said slot toward andagainst the napped face of the traveling fabric to create a turbulentgas condition thereat at points. where said nap is otherwise undisturbedand free to fluff upvunder the action of the gas, a backing member onthe opposite .7 side of the fabric from said slot in close approximationto the fabric and restraining the fabric against the action of the gas,said backing mem berterminating shortly beyond the region of theadjacent the'back of the fabric for reversely defiecting the gas. 7

6. An apparatus for treating the nap on,,pile or other sheared fabrics,comprising means for causing the continuous travel of the fabric, astructure positioned adjacent the path of fabric travel having a narrowdischarge slot extending substantially the full width of the fabric,means for discharging compressed gas through said slot toward andagainst the napped face of the traveling fabric to create a, turbulentgas condition travel of such fabric in partly finished but-unsizedcondition, acting frictionaliy on the matted fibers of the loose rovingends to separate the same, creating a turbulent air condition bydirecting compressed air forcibly against the face of the fabric tofiuif up said roving ends, applying size to the back only of saidfabric, and drying the fabric without impairing the fiuffed up conditionof said roving ends. 8. The method of finishing fabrics, which consistsin providing a fabric having a plain fabric ground with raisedspots formed on the face thereof by rovings interwoven with threadscomprising the said ground, causing the continuous travel of such fabricin partly finished but unsized condition, creating a turbulent aircondition. by directing compressed air forcibly against the face of thefabric to fluff up the looseroving ends, thereafter applying size to theback only of said fabric, leaving theroving ends unsized and in theirair fiufied up condition, and thereafter drying. the fabric withoutimpairing the air flufled up condition of said roving ends.

9. The method of finishing fabrics, which consists in providing a fabrichaving a plain fabric ground with raised spots formed on the facethereof by rovings interwoven with threads comprising the said ground,causing the continuous travel of the fabric in partly finished condi-.tion, directing compressed gas forcibly against the face of the fabricto create a turbulent gas condition about said roving ends at pointswhere the latter are otherwise undisturbed, to flufl up said roving endsunder the action of the gas, applying size to the back only of saidfabric leaving the roving ends unsized'and .in their -fluifed upcondition, and completing the finishing of the traveling fabric withoutimpairment of the. fiufied up condition of said roving ends.

10. An apparatus for fiufiing up the loose roving ends on fabricspresenting raised spots on the face thereof, comprising means forcausing the continuous travel of the fabric in partly finished 'form', astructure positioned adjacent the path of the fabric travel, means onsaid structure for discharging compressed gas toward and against thatface of the traveling fabric presenting said spots for substantially thefull width thereof, said gasbelng so directed ing ends on fabricspresenting raised spots on the face thereof, comprising means forcausfinished but unsized condition, means frictionally engaging thematted fibers of the loose ends of the roving forming said spots toseparate the fibers thereof, means at a relatively advanced point in thetravel of the fabric for thereafter flufling up the roving ends bydirecting gas under pressure toward and against the face of the fabricbearing said spots where the fibers thereof are otherwise undisturbedand free to flufi up under'the action of the gas, means at a stillfurther advanced point in the travel of the fabric for sizing the backof the fabric only, leaving the gas fiuifed up condition of the spots,uniinpaired, and means thereafter, while the fabric is still traveling,for stretching and drying the latter without impairment of the gasfiufied up condition of the roving ends.

12. The method of finishing fabrics having a plain open mesh wovenfabric ground with a plurality of spaced spots formed on one facethereofby rovings of textile material interwoven with a plurality of threadscomprising said fabric ground as and when the fabric is initially wovenand presenting a plurality of loose ends of said rovings on said fabricface,

which consists in separating and flufiing up the roving fibers of aplurality of spots over substantially the entire area of each spot, asby the turbulent action of an air blast-directed against the face ofsaid spots, so that said roving fibers of said plurality of spaced spotsare fluffed up and given an unflattened and generally upstanding,unmatted attitude above said fabric ground, and sizing the fabric groundwhile leaving the roving ends unsized.

13. A method of finishing fabrics, which consists in takinga fabric ofthe marquisette type having a plain open mesh fabric ground with raised,spaced spots formed on the face thereof by rovings interwoven each witha plurality of 55 threads comprising said fabric ground as and when saidfabric is initially woven and having the loose ends of said rovingslying flatwise and matted against the ground, subjecting said fabric topartial finishing operations, causing the continuous travel of suchfabric, forcibly acting on the fibers of the rovings from both the faceand reverse sides of the fabric without damage through such action tothe fabric ground adjacent said spots, to separate and raise thefiattened and matted roving, fibers and impart to said roving ends afiufied-up soft condition extending over the area of each spot so thatthe loose roving fibers of said spaced spots arefiuffed up and given anunfiattened and generally upstanding, unmatted attitude above saidfabric ground, finishing the fabric while leaving the loose roving endsunsized and without impairment to the fluffed-up condition thereof.

14. As a new article of manufacture, a finished-woven textile fabrichaving a plain open mesh fabric ground with rovings of a textilematerial interwoven each with a plurality of threads comprised in saidground as and when said fabric is initially woven, said rovings formingraised spots over spaced areas on the face of the fabric ground and soarranged that the loose ends of said rovings are exposed on said face,said roving ends being in fluffed up soft condition over substantiallythe entire area of each spot with the fibers constituting said rovingends in substantial separation from each other and unmatted and havingan unfiattened and generally upstanding attitude .above said fabricground, the fabricground being sized and the fluffedup roving-ends beingunsized. 15.-As a new article of manufacture, a finished woven textilemarquisette fabric having a plain open mesh fabric ground with rovingsof a textile material interwoven each with a plurality of threadscomprised in said ground as and when said fabric is initially woven,said

rovings forming raised spots over spaced areas on the face of the fabricground and so arranged that the loose ends of said rovings are exposedon said face, said roving ends being in fluifed up soft condition-oversubstantially the entire area of each spot with the fibers con-.-stituting said roving ends in substantial separation fromeach other andunmatted and hav- 7 ing an unflattened and generally upstanding attitudeabove said fabric ground, the fabric ground being sized and the fluifedup roving ends being unsized.

JOHN DOUGLAS ROBERTSON.

WILLIAM G. STAPLES.

DlSCLAlMER 2,110,118.-Joim Douglas Robertson and William G. Staples,Dighton, Mass. FABRIC AND METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR TREATING THE SAME.Patent dated March 1, 1938. Disclaimer filed September 3, 1943, by theassignee, Mount Hope Finishing Company. Hereby enters this disclaimer toclaims 7 through 15 inclusive, of said patent.

[Ofiicial Gazette September 28, 1943.]

